COMPOSERS: Prokofiev
LABELS: RCA Gold Seal
WORKS: Symphony No. 1 (Classical); Symphony No. 5
PERFORMER: Saint Louis SO, LPO/Leonard Slatkin
CATALOGUE NO: 09026 61350 2 DDD (1984/5)
Underfocused sound and wan Saint Louis woodwind let down Slatkin’s generously shaped Prokofiev Five: fangs are never truly bared and the mutes stay on throughout. A pity that viable alternatives (Tilson Thomas, Järvi, Muti) are all in the upper price bracket. The Classical Symphony, recorded in London, is a different story – cleanly engineered, expressively phrased and more revealing of the textural layers than any I know. But no-one will be wanting this disc for that alone. David Nice
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 (Classical); Symphony No. 5
Underfocused sound and wan Saint Louis woodwind let down Slatkin’s generously shaped Prokofiev Five: fangs are never truly bared and the mutes stay on throughout. A pity that viable alternatives (Tilson Thomas, Järvi, Muti) are all in the upper price bracket. The Classical Symphony, recorded in London, is a different story – cleanly engineered, expressively phrased and more revealing of the textural layers than any I know. But no-one will be wanting this disc for that alone. David Nice
Our rating
3
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:34 pm